SEMINAR PROFILE

H16 -
Who Knew? Ancient Roman Law

In ancient Rome, your income would go straight to your father. A divorce was as simple as walking away with no intention to return, and the children always stayed with the father. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, made marriage and children legal necessities if you wanted to be able to inherit property from a friend. Slaves could be bought and sold, but once freed they became Roman citizens, a degree of social mobility almost unimaginable in the United States today. Studying both the specific laws and their historical and cultural context will help us understand how, in ancient Rome, law regulated individual behavior and reflected cultural attitudes.

Scholar:

Ray Starr

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

3/3/2009, 3/17/2009

H16 -	Who Knew? Ancient Roman Law

	In ancient Rome, your income would go straight to your father. A divorce was as simple as walking away with no intention to return, and the children always stayed with the father. Augustus, the first Roman emperor, made marriage and children legal necessities if you wanted to be able to inherit property from a friend. Slaves could be bought and sold, but once freed they became Roman citizens, a degree of social mobility almost unimaginable in the United States today. Studying both the specific laws and their historical and cultural context will help us understand how, in ancient Rome, law regulated individual behavior and reflected cultural attitudes.

		Scholar:	Ray Starr
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	3/3/2009, 3/17/2009